


Black Magic

by PenTheWillows



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Summary subject to change, ships are subject to change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-20 22:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4804190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenTheWillows/pseuds/PenTheWillows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the death of family matriarch Hyacinth, the four remaining members of the Lane family pack up their lives and move to Beacon Hills, CA. Second-eldest daughter Mari quickly falls in with the popular crowd at Beacon Hills High, but a chance encounter and a well-kept family secret will quickly pull Mari and everyone she loves into the fold of the entire McCall pack. And it will take all of them to combat the newest force intending to take over the town</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lydamartin and b-nshee](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lydamartin+and+b-nshee).
  * Inspired by [From Ashes](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/144854) by allybz. 



The Lane family arrived in Beacon Hills at the stroke of midnight, on the cusp of Tuesday and Wednesday. As a slight breeze floated through the open window, tousling Mari’s wavy chocolate hair, she felt whispers. The moment of their arrival was significant, the whispers told her skin in skitters and flicks, though whether it was auspicious or ominous remained to be seen. Clutching the pendant hanging at the hollow of her throat, she sighed deeply, eliciting a glance from Blue in the driver’s seat. But neither spoke a word as they pulled up to what would be their home for the foreseeable future.

A shadow crossed on the garage door, and Mari thought to speak up but quickly decided against it. The edges of the shadow had been sharp and angular, blade-like in their appearance. There was only one thing the shadow could belong to, and she knew that she would’ve been the only occupant of the car to have seen it, to know what it meant. So she heaved another sigh and opened the car door, dragging her backpack out with her. She opened the back door of the car and shook Cammy awake, while Blue did the same to Jon on the other side. They had been traveling for what seemed like days, and they all knew that the real journey had only just begun.

The four trooped to the front door, a single bag being carried by each, with Blue in the lead. Rummaging around in her pocket, Blue pulled out a silver key and unlocked the front door. Flicking on a light, they went inside. Mari entered last, chancing one last glance outside. The shadow was present under the street light illuminating the road, and she shivered as she hastily shut the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 1

“Seriously?” Marigold ‘Mari’ Lane scowled as she crossed her arms over her chest. The seventeen year old girl was having a stare-down with her older sister, thirty year old Bluebell ‘Blue’ Lane. The Lane family had just arrived in Beacon Hills the night before, and now the three youngest children were being expected to go to school, which Mari thought was ridiculous. “We don’t even get a day to adjust the time zone or anything? You do know that we are now nine hours behind Italy, right? Jetlag is a thing.”

“Yes, and it’s only 4 PM there. You’d be getting out of school right about now. It’s hardly an excuse for you to stay home and be lazy. Besides, the best way to combat jetlag is to push through it.” Blue had always been the rational sibling, and it’d always been one of her most annoying qualities, at least in the eyes of her younger sister. This time, her logic made Mari scoff.

“I’m sure that’s it. It couldn’t be that you want some time away from your siblings.” She’d had a month to prepare for the move, but she was still bitter. Mari was the supreme grudge-holder of the family. She felt like it was her right, especially now, after having her entire life uprooted and shipped halfway across the world.  
Mari had been attending schools in Senise, Italy for as long as she could remember. Senise was a rather small town of about seven thousand people, and it was a town where nothing ever changed. Of course, the Lanes hadn’t actually lived in Senise. They lived in the neighboring village of Colobraro, which was so small that there wasn’t even a school. Colobraro, commonly called the “village without name”, was known to the masses as the most haunted town in Europe, and few dared visit there. But it had been home to the Lanes. Well, all the Lanes except for the oldest daughter, Blue.

Blue had moved to the United States eleven years ago, just after graduating from the Liceo classico Isabella Morra – Senise’s more traditional high school. The rest of the Lanes hadn’t heard much from her after that…until their mother passed away. And then Blue had jetted back home to make funeral arrangements, sell the house, and pack her siblings up to move to the “Land of the Free”. Luckily, Mari and her other two siblings (twin brother Jonquil and younger sister Camellia) had excelled in their English lessons in school, so the language barrier wouldn’t be much of a problem here. But that didn’t mean any of them would enjoy their new home.

Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. When they had landed in LAX early yesterday evening, Cammy had been fascinated by the wide variety of people surrounding them. And Jon was usually okay with whatever as long as he had his iPod and access to sports of some sort. So maybe Mari was the only one throwing a fit about the whole thing. It wasn’t her fault that all of her siblings were clearly deranged!

Mari loved Colobraro. She felt in tune there. Her mother had felt the same, which is why she’d moved them all to Italy shortly after Cammy was born and their father left. Colobraro had always called to her, said Hyacinth Lane, and the feeling had passed down to her second-eldest child.

The short brunette was startled out of her reminiscing when Jon let out a shrill whistle. “Come on, Goldie. We’re going to be late if you don’t get your ass in gear. And you know how Cammy gets about being even a minute tardy.” She scowled at the use of her nickname, but snatched her backpack off the staircase nonetheless. She did know that Cammy was obsessed with all things school-related, and her younger sister was dying to dive into the American education system so she could compare it to the Italian model. Cammy was the resident genius of the family, and had been moved a year ahead because of her stellar grades and IQ.

“Don’t get your boxers in a twist, Quillie. I’m coming.” One despised nickname demanded another in kind. She followed her brother out to the garage, where their blue 2010 Mustang convertible was waiting. Getting the twins a car had been one of Blue’s few concessions. She had originally wanted them to take the bus, but the two had point-blank refused. Especially since they planned to try-out for activities – cheerleading for Mari and lacrosse for Jon – and they were sure that Cammy would find something to interest her, as well. Besides, busses were dirty. In Italy, they’d had a beat-up 1995 Fiat Duna, but Blue was making more than enough money to cover the cost of the convertible. Plus their mother’s life insurance payout had surprisingly been quite large.

Mari headed towards the driver’s seat, but a smirking Jon beat her to it, so she made her way to the passenger side. She refused to sit in the back, claiming it made her nauseous, and Cammy was more than happy to concede. The younger girl claimed that sitting in the backseat made her feel more important anyway, like she was a famous person being chauffeured around. Cammy was an oddball, but she was also the beloved baby of the family, so she got away with a lot.

The drive to school took about ten minutes, giving them about twenty minutes before school started. It was the perfect amount of time to go to the office and get their schedules, or so Cammy said. It was late October, meaning school had already been in session for almost three months. Being the new kids hadn’t exactly pleased Mari, but it had taken much longer to get all their affairs in order in Italy than anyone had expected.

They had to park near the back of the school parking lot, because all the good close spaces had already been taken. Just another problem with being new: everyone already has unofficial assigned parking spaces. It hadn’t been much of a problem back in Senise, because most everyone walked to school. The differences between Italy and California were becoming more and more blatant with every second.

The three siblings sat in the car for a few minutes, taking in the crowds amassed in front of the entrance to Beacon Hills High. Though none of them were willing to admit it, they all felt a bit of fear at the thought of being stared at by everyone. Especially since the school principal had told Blue that they didn’t get new kids often. It had been only a month since their mother had passed away, and they all felt that walking into the school was really just distancing themselves further from her memory.

Mari let out one of the sighs she was so famous for in her family. “There’s no sense in waiting. We just need to get this over with. Like ripping a band-aid off, right?” She looked at Jon and Cammy, and was relieved when they both nodded slightly. Opening the car door, she decided to take the lead as she often did. “Come on. We have to go check in at the office.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing particularly exciting, I know, but I've already got chapter 2 started, and it will be a lot better. I don't know when I'll update again, because I move back to college in two days. Maybe if I can finish chapter 2 fast enough, I can post it late tomorrow or sometime this weekend. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	3. Chapter 2

Beacon Hills High was…charming, Mari supposed. It was bigger than the Liceo had been, which one would imagine would make it easier to blend in. But blend she had not. People had been staring at her since she made her way into her first period History class. It probably hadn’t helped that apparently people in California didn’t dress like she did. With how hot it was outside, she’d thought crop tops would be a lot more popular. Or maybe it had more to do with her leather jacket and biker boots. Yeah, that was pretty likely. She hadn’t seen a lot of either.

Although two girls had complimented her outfit, to which Mari had replied with a small smile. One had been a small Asian girl with a camo jacket, and the other had been a strawberry-blonde decked in designer fashion (Mari had recognized her dress from one of Blue’s _Vogue_ magazines). But other than that pleasant encounter on her way to her math class, there had mostly been derision on her classmates’ faces when they encountered her.

By the time lunch rolled around, she was desperate for some freedom, so she decided to forgo the awkwardness of finding a place in the cafeteria. She headed outside, making her way to the farthest part of the campus. She made quick work of the sandwich and chips she’d packed this morning and then decided that fresh air just wasn’t doing as much for her as she’d hoped.

And so Mari leaned against the chain-link fence in a classic “bad girl” pose, completed by her leather jacket and a cigarette. Smoking was a nasty habit that she’d picked up at the Liceo, and it had become an instrumental coping mechanism during the upheaval of her entire life. A snap of her fingers brought the breeze towards her, fanning the smoke away before anyone could see it. As much as she enjoyed rebelling from time to time, detention was not what she needed on her first day.

Some of the smoke wrapped around her pinky finger before disappearing, and she sighed, dropping the burnt butt to the ground and grinding it her with her heel. Shifting her head to the left, she took in a newcomer to the scene. He was tall, probably a good foot more than her. He wore a leather jacket too, and it suited him, though he also seemed to be swimming in it. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and there was a strength coursing through him, though there also seemed to be a sadness. Digging her toe into the dirt slightly, Mari sent out a small pulse. Not enough for him to notice anything odd, but enough to make him want to look up at her. And look up he did.

The boy blinked rapidly, and she realized that he had some beautiful blue eyes. When matched with his curly brown hair, he looked strikingly similar to a fae prince. She nudged that thought to the back of her mind. It was a silly notion, and Mari had given those up long ago. Flights of fancy had no place in her world.

The boy cleared his throat, and she gave him a subtle head nod in acknowledgement. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but the school bell rang. As much as she dreaded returning to the fray, she couldn’t chance being tardy. At least not today. Shooting the boy a wry smile, Mari snatched her bag off the ground and shuffled towards the school.

She sent out one more pulse, and noted the coiled springs that he held within. He was rather wound up for a day in middle-of-nowhere California. Maybe this town could be interesting, after all. Although she doubted that it was the type of interesting she was used to. All Mari could do was wait and see.

* * *

 

Isaac Lahey wasn’t really sure what to make of the girl that had been standing by the fence during lunch. He’d only just gotten back to Beacon Hills, and had decided to hang around the school to wait for Scott since he didn’t actually enroll until tomorrow. Isaac had been living in France with Chris Argent for a while, but then Chris had come back to work with a hunter family called the Calaveras. He had told Isaac that he could stay in France as long as he liked, especially since the curly-haired male was now eighteen, but eventually he’d gotten lonely and had decided to return to his hometown. So he’d phoned Melissa McCall, who was more than happy to have him return to living with them, and had made arrangements to get a flight out the next day.

Melissa and Chris were the only ones who knew that Isaac was coming home, and he’d made Melissa promise to not tell anyone. He wanted to surprise his old pack, something he never would’ve done before his stint in Europe. But he had changed following Allison’s death. He was sure the entire pack had. He’d had a hard time carving out a place at the Lycée Alexandre Ribot in Saint-Omer, but adopting a sense of humor and a penchant for pranks had found him friends soon enough.

As Isaac made his way to the parking lot to wait at Stiles’ Jeep, sure that it’d be where the pack would gather after school let out, he considered the girl he’d seen. She was beautiful, sure, but she had also reminded him of Erica. He sighed. As much as he loved Scott’s pack, he desperately missed Erica and Boyd. They’d been his first real friends, and he’d never been able to thank them enough for that.

There’d been something off about the girl. She had smelled like smoke, and not the kind that came from the cigarette she’d been smoking. She also smelled like lavender and cinnamon. It was an interesting combination, and he was fairly certain he’d encountered it before, but he couldn’t pinpoint an exact time and location. And it wasn’t just her smell that perplexed him. When he looked at her for the first time, he thought he’d seen green in her eyes, though he also swore that her eyes were dark brown like her hair. If he wasn’t a werewolf, he would think it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but he knew better than that.

Isaac eventually decided to file the encounter away for now. He’d mention it to Scott later at the pack meeting he knew was coming. There was no way Scott was going to allow him back into the fold without a complete catch-up of every single thing he’d missed. He smiled. It’d been too long since he’d been surrounded by others of his kind. It was going to be so good to be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer, and hopefully I will be able to post it sometime this week. If you didn't know, I just moved back to college yesterday and I'm going to be super busy this week (classes start on Thursday but I also have job training and a campus info fair to work at). So we'll see what happens. Have a great day/night!


	4. Chapter 3

Isaac hadn't exactly gotten the reaction he thought his surprise return deserved. He had been on alert as soon as Scott and Stiles exited the school, and he'd had them in his sightline the entire time. Stiles had emitted something akin a small shriek when he saw Isaac leaning against his beloved Jeep. It had amused Isaac to no end, though he was careful to not show it. Stiles had recovered quickly enough, a change that stood in stark contrast to Isaac's memories of him.

“What brings you here, Curly Sue?” Stiles’ question fell on mostly deaf ears. Isaac growled in his direction – “Ooh, so scary. I’m shaking in my sneakers.” – but the taller boy’s eyes remained firmly on Scott.  The Alpha was sniffing the air, making a face of confused recognition. The right corner of Isaac's mouth quirked up slightly when Scott finally made eye contact. Scott looked almost startled, as if he had put all of his concentration into smelling. Apparently, Scott still didn't have ths whole werewolf thing down, even as an Alpha.

“You smell it, too, don’t you?” Isaac asked as the three boys were joined by the rest of the pack. He knew Lydia, Kira, and Malia, but there were also two boys that he didn’t recognize. At the topic of smell, Malia and the shorter boy sniffed the air, mimicking the expression on Scott’s face just moments later. Isaac knew Malia was a werecoyote, but what was the boy? And what had he done to earn entrance into the pack of a True Alpha?

“Why does that smell familiar? And who’s this guy?” the shorter boy asked the Alpha. Scott turned to him, a fatherly light sparking in his eyes. Isaac made a note to mock his friend for it later. Scott McCall: Responsible Pack Father. The title actually kind of suited him, but it still seemed ridiculous.

“Liam, this is Isaac Lahey. He used to be one of the Betas in Derek’s pack and then mine. Isaac, this is Liam Dunbar, my only real Beta. And I don’t know what that smell is.” Scott replied sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.

He returned his attention to Isaac, who admitted, “I don’t know what it is, either. But it’s definitely supernatural.”

At this point, Stiles decided to be his usual annoying and nosy self, completely butting into the conversation. “Hey there, remember us? The non-were members of the pack? The ones that have no idea what you’re talking about?”

Isaac snorted. Stiles always had to be the center of attention. He had no idea what Scott saw in the hyper teen. But that was a topic for another time, he supposed. For now, he’d just add his two cents to Scott’s explanation. Of course, that required Scott actually give a decent explanation.

“It smells like campfire smoke and lavender and cinnamon. Sort of like Deaton, but different. Close enough that the supernatural connection is obvious,” Scott told the others.

Isaac interjected then. “I smelled it earlier today. There was this girl on the other side of campus. I didn’t recognize her. The way she held herself – she reminded me of Erica. And I swear her eyes changed colors.”

"Have you been waiting here all day? That's so creepy!" Nobody really paid any heed to Stiles' remark.

“Another –” Liam started, but Lydia cut him off. She stepped closer to Isaac, looking at him in a way that scared him way more than it should have. Lydia might have actually gotten more terrifying while he was gone, if that was possible. He hadn’t thought it was. He was wrong.

“About my height? Dark hair, dark eyes? Wearing a leather jacket and biker boots?” she asked. Isaac nodded, and she stepped away. Turning to Kira, they stared at each other for a few seconds before Lydia spun on her heel to face Scott. (She managed to whack the unnamed pack member in the face with her hair in the process, which left the boy sputtering and caused Isaac to chuckle lightly.) “That would be the new girl in our class. Her name’s Marigold Lane. She has a twin brother named Jonquil and a freshman sister named Camellia. They just moved here from Italy. Their mother died and their older sister took custody of them and moved them here.”

The rest of the pack looked in amazement at the banshee (and the kitsune, to a lesser degree). “How do you know this stuff?” Stiles asked, wide-eyed. If Isaac himself didn’t have what was probably a very similar expression on his face, he would’ve snickered.

“I have a gift.” Lydia sniffed, like she was annoyed that any of them doubted her ability to know everything about everyone at school. “Anyway, I heard she’s pretty smart. And she has a decent fashion sense. Kira and I will make friends with her and see what we can find out.” She ended her statement by turning decisively and heading towards her car. Again her hair whacked the unnamed pack member, which was even better the second time around.

“Lydia! Wait! I didn’t – ” Kira began to protest, jogging to keep up with Lydia, who was moving faster than really should have been possible in those heels. The kitsune shot a quick wave over her shoulder as she continued to try to convince Lydia that she was not the girl for this possibly-very-important job.

The rest of the pack and Isaac looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Malia shrugged and left the group with no kind of farewell, heading in the same direction as the other two girls. Scott and Stiles looked a little dumbfounded, which amused Isaac greatly. “Apparently the girls are all riding together?”

“Come on, Stiles. We need to get going.” Scott eventually said, nudging his best friend’s arm with his elbow and causing Stiles to startle.

“Crap! Derek’s going to get all Sourwolf-y if we’re late. He's not even an Alpha anymore, he has no right to be all grumpy…” Stiles’ grumbling trailed off as he unlocked the doors to the Jeep. He hopped into the driver’s seat, and the other four boys made their way to the passenger side. Liam and the unnamed boy hopped into the backseat, and Isaac and Scott had a bit of a stare-down.

“We’re having a pack meeting at Derek’s loft,” Scott explained, “It’s also kind of a ‘welcome back’ party. The Hales have officially returned to Beacon Hills.” Isaac nodded.

“I have a car. I’ll meet you there.” Before Isaac could turn away, Scott grabbed him into a hug. Even with all his werewolf senses, Isaac hadn't seen it coming.

“I’m glad to have you back, man.” There was only honesty in Scott’s voice, and Isaac sighed happily but inaudibly. As many bad memories as there were here, there was no place like Beacon Hills. And there was no pack like his pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why this chapter took so long to write. All I know is that I'm so glad to finally be putting it out, especially since it means I can finally do my homework. I really hope y'all enjoyed, and hopefully I'll be seeing you soon with the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 4

When she returned from school, Mari's first order of business was to shield the new house. She had to make sure her family remained safe and oblivious. The rest of the family was in the dark about their ancestry and powers, and Hyacinth had instructed her second-eldest daughter to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"Keep them safe,  _cucciola_. Protect them." Even on her sickbed, the safety of her children was the Lane matriarch's number one concern. "Changes are coming for you all. Keep them from the truth for as long as possible."

That'd been the last time Mari had spoken to her mother, her mentor, her best friend. Hyacinth had passed not ten minutes later, while Mari was in the bathroom. She returned to the room just as the doctor pronounced a time of death, and she'd immediately began to sob heavy tears She hadn't even called her siblings. That had been the work of the helpful nurses on the floor. That had been a long and terrible night.

So now Mari respected her mother's wishes and cast protections around the property. First she set a circle of salt around the house's perimeter and placed quartz crystals by the cardinal points, followed by hammering three iron nails into each exit doorframe. Her last touch was burning sage and wafting the smoke through the house.

Although her siblings might have seen her casting as just an eccentricity picked up from their mother, Mari was still glad to be the only one home. Jon had stayed behind for a tryout with the soccer team, Cammy had stayed for a tryout with the Scholastic Decathlon team, and Blue wouldn't return from her first day at her new law firm until much later in the evening. Mari had decided to skip cheerleading, at least for the season. She told her siblings that she just wanted to give herself time to adjust to the new setting, which was the truth but not exactly the whole truth.

When she finished with the enchantments, she decided to explore Beacon Hills for the first time. Her Google search of the town hadn't told her much, so the only way to get the lay of the land would be some good old-fashioned exploring. Mari had walked home from school, explaining to her skeptical twin and younger sister that she'd stay on the main road, which she had. But now, she decided to duck through the forest that seemed so out of place in this small California town. She had always assumed that California would be a giant desert, but everything she'd seen thus far had proven to the contrary.

The forest was not as dense as she'd assumed, plenty of light filtering through the canopy, but it was still rather creepy. Mari prided herself on being made of fairly strong stuff, especially after all of the things she'd experienced while in training, but these woods set her on edge. Every sound made her flinch and frantically scan her surroundings, eyes wide and left hand clenched around her black tourmaline pendant.

Each of the Lane children had been gifted with a black tourmaline token, among other things, in their mother's will. Blue had received a ring, Mari a pendant, Jon a pair of earrings (he'd always expressed a desire to get his ears pierced and had taken the gift as a sign to go ahead), and Cammy a bracelet. None of them had removed their token since they'd received them, out of respect for their mother, but only Mari knew that the tokens were meant to ward off negative energy. Hyacinth had been clever like that.

After about fifteen minutes, she could see what looked to be downtown through the tree-line. Exhaling a sigh of relief, she picked up her pace, eager to escape this place where the flora seemed to release unnaturalness rather than oxygen. But a sliver of black at the corner of her eye startled her and caused her to whip her head around. The shadow from the previous night was standing in front of a tree about thirty feet away. Somehow, it was much even more menacing in the daylight, when a shadow of that size and solidity should be nearly impossible.

When she made eye contact with the shadow (or as much eye contact as one could make with an eyeless being), it began to drift towards her. Its pace was slow, but Mari refused to take any chances. Snapping back to reality, she took off like a bat out of hell. Breaking through the forest, she ran towards the nearest building, a warehouse or factory that seemed to be abandoned. There was a door on this side of the building, and she made a beeline towards it. Not looking back, afraid the shadow would be right behind her, she felt a brief moment of relief when the door proved to be unlocked.

Pulling the door open with as much strength as she could muster, Mari threw herself inside. As she barreled in, she grabbed the interior handle and took it with her, the door letting out a massive  _THUD_  as it slammed shut in her wake. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she slumped against the door, fairly certain that the shadow would be forced to remain outside. Creatures like that were unable to phase through anything made of iron, such as the door she was leaning on. As she inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to return her pulse to a respectable level, she bitterly thought of the wish she'd made prior to leaving Italy.  _"I know I asked for Beacon Hills to be exciting, but this isn't what I meant."_

* * *

 

When she had finally managed to calm herself down, Mari decided to explore the dilapidated building. Over the years, many people had told her that her curiosity was going to get her in trouble one day, a claim she didn't doubt in the slightest. But her natural response was to become even more curious, seeking trouble out before it could hunt her down.

Dust and cobwebs coated the steel-and-stone hallways, and she estimated that it'd been at least ten years since the building was last used. But there was something off about the space, something that told her there was more to this neglected structure than met the eye. She snapped her fingers, hoping to send a breeze to sniff the place out, so to speak. But the air here was stale, although she could detect some small pockets of fresh breezes no more than a week old.

Someone had been here recently. Maybe the shadow had chased them in here, just like it'd done with her. But a creature like that was unlikely to choose an average Joe or Jane as its prey. It would want a supernatural, like her. Which meant...

"There's other supernaturals in Beacon Hills." This theory was confirmed by a flick of her wrist. When the new breezes had come inside, they'd been accompanied by four supernaturals and a halfie. Enough supers to be a coven or a pack or a clan, any of which could be extremely dangerous if they had negative intentions. And they probably would have negative intentions if they discovered an undocumented super had moved into their territory without their permission.

Mari muttered a rather colorful - and decidedly non-magical - Italian curse under her breath. Blue had chosen the location of their new home, and of course she'd accidentally picked a town with a group of potentially ill-willed creatures already inhabiting it. If her older sister hadn't been so pigheaded and had allowed the others to give their input...well, they might have still ended up here, but Mari would've been prepared to encounter other supers and she would've asked their permission to move in. Granted, Blue didn't know that any of this was important to take into account when choosing a new city, and that was partially her younger sister's fault for keeping her in the dark. But said younger sister maintained that this shock could've been avoided if their new living situation was a democracy rather than a Blue-ocracy.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a sudden influx of new air. Another flicked wrist confirmed that people had entered the building. But this time, it was a much larger group than before. There were ten of them: eight supernaturals, a halfie, and a human. Mari could even hear their footsteps with a little effort, which meant that either the ten were much closer than she thought or the structure had excellent acoustics. She knew that she didn't want to find out the answer.

Even in her jet-lagged state - because of course her body would choose now to spring this on her - she was able to spell herself with a dampener. Her footsteps silenced, she retreated the way she'd come, hoping upon hope that the shadow had gotten bored and disappeared. Otherwise she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, a position she had never really enjoyed.

Luck was on Mari's side, thankfully, and the shadow was nowhere to be seen when she got outside. However, her jetlag came into effect when she forgot to dampen the door, and it let out another harsh  _THUD_  behind her. There was no way the supers didn't hear that, there was no way they wouldn't investigate, and there was no way in hell she was sticking around for them to find. Deciding to take her chances, she sprinted back into the forest and didn't slow down until she reached her own front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Cucciola' is an Italian term of endearment, meaning "puppy."  
> This chapter sort of just burst forth from my fingers, to be honest. I was sitting on the train on my way back to school and I got inspired, and an hour later I had about 1000 words written, which make up the first part of this chapter. The first paragraph of the second half was typed up on my phone in the middle of the night, and the rest of the second half was typed on my phone while I was walking around at work. I'm so happy that I managed to get this chapter to be as long as I did, and I really hope y'all enjoyed! Please leave a review, because it would really mean the world to me!


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is extremely dialogue-heavy.

Derek and Cora were waiting outside the loft building when the pack pulled up. A look of surprise crossed the older werewolf's face when Isaac exited his gray sedan (a gift from Chris when he left France). But the two still managed to engage in a gruff and manly hug. Stiles cooed mockingly, and the sound was met with one of Derek's patented scowls.

"I forgot how ridiculous you all are," Isaac stated, bumping fists with Cora. The two weren't Scott-and-Stiles close, but they had bonded over their mutual enjoyment of mocking Derek and Peter behind their backs. They'd exchanged numbers when Cora returned to South America (after he'd convinced her to actually purchase a cell phone), and she'd told him the news almost immediately after she and Derek had decided to return to town.

"Can we get inside?" Derek grumbled, ignoring his ex-Beta's comment. He sniffed the air and his perpetual-frown deepened. "There's something out here."

Stiles scoffed, but he cut the sound off when Scott nodded his head in agreement. "Derek's right. There's something in the woods." The observation was soon confirmed by the other weres, and the group started to troop inside.

Derek led the group, so when he stopped short upon entering the building, it was only the supernatural reflexes of the others that prevented a massive pile-up. Stiles opened his mouth to make a comment but shut it as Derek spun around, eyes blazing gold. "Someone's here."

"Seriously?" Stiles groaned. "Does every supernatural creature on the West Coast know about this frickin' place?"

He was answered by the sound of a distant slamming door, echoing through the metal that traversed the building. Scott pushed through to stand at Derek's side, red eyes at full force as he growled.

"What is it?" Kira asked, sweetly placing her hand on Scott's shoulder. The touch calmed him somewhat, allowing him to use his senses to identify the threat.

"Campfire smoke and cinnamon and lavender..." Scott answered after releasing a heavy breath. "It's that girl from the school."

"What would she be doing here?" Stiles rolled his eyes at Mason's question as the rest of the pack turned a judgmental gaze towards him. "Hey! I'm new to this!" Mason protested, raising his hands in the air.

"Derek, any idea of what she could be?" Lydia was all business as she made her way to the older man. Derek shrugged, confusion touching his scowl.

Cora let out a sigh that none of them could really place. "She's definitely supernatural. Born, not turned. She's been touched by magic," she droned. She lifted a hand to her face to inspect her nails as the rest of the group gaped at her, much like they had with Lydia earlier.

Derek considered it and then nodded his head. "She's right."

"Care to share with the class?" Stiles looked impatient, as he tended to when he felt left out of something.

"It's the cinnamon and lavender. Either by itself could just be a natural scent. But the two together..."

"She's a witch," Isaac cut in, "I should've known."

"Seriously? Where are you guys getting all this information?" Stiles whined, crossing his arms over his chest. He was definitely pouting. Isaac snickered at the image before returning to the matter at hand.

"Chris and I ran into a coven of them when we first arrived in France. I'd forgotten about it since it wasn't much of an issue," Isaac explained, speaking to Scott rather than the Alpha's best friend.

"Cinnamon and lavender are often used in clairvoyance spells," Cora added, "There was a coven nearby where I lived in South America. For the right price, they'd cast a spell for my pack. Useful during territory wars."

Scott made a face, and Stiles pat him on the back. "Gas, buddy?"

Someone snorted as Scott shook his friend off. "No. I'm just thinking...shouldn't she have made her presence known to the local Alpha when she moved in?"

Derek nodded at his protege. "That is the protocol when entering the claimed territory of a werewolf pack."

"So you're saying we should grab her and drag her back here?" Malia piped up, a devious grin crowning her face. Cora had a similar look on her face, and in that moment it was easy to see that the two were cousins.

"We should never have introduced those two," Stiles whispered in Lydia's ear. The rest of the pack chuckled as the female cousins growled.

"Focus!" Scott commanded, and the weres shut up. "No dragging. Maybe she didn't know that there was a pack here."

"What kind of witch moves somewhere and doesn't check out the supernatural scene beforehand?"

"A dumb one," Isaac commented, but he was ignored.

"If she didn't know before, she definitely knows now." Derek looked back into the hallway. "Unless she was new at magic, she would have been able to tell that werewolves lived in this building as soon as she stepped inside."

"So what do we do?" Scott asked the older man. Alpha though he may be, Scott knew that Derek's supernatural knowledge far surpassed his own. So he would defer to the born-werewolf when he could, such as in instances like this.

"It's up to you," Derek replied, "But I think we should give her some time. She could be harmless."

Scott contemplated the suggestion before addressing his pack. "For now, we'll wait. Lydia and Kira can make contact with her, see if there's anything dangerous about her. We'll give her a week to make herself known. If she doesn't..." He let the thought dangle, a threat unspoken but very much present.

The others agreed. It seemed like a sensible plan, after all.

"Now that that's taken care of, can we go inside? I'm starving!" A majority of the assembled group groaned at another Stiles comment, but Scott chuckled as he slung his arm over his best friend's shoulder.

"Yeah. Let's get inside and get this pack meeting officially started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time since I updated. Sorry about that! I had so much going on with school and my job, and I had a nasty case of writer's block. But I'm back (hopefully)!!!! I've already written the next chapter but I won't post it until I get at least another chapter ahead. Hope you enjoyed!!! Please leave a comment/review!!!


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to jo-harvelles and kingsman-alpha on tumblr for their support!

The next morning went much like it had on the first day. Jon drove, Mari pouted in the passenger seat, and Cammy sat in the backseat chattering (her current topic was the Scholastic Decathalon team that she'd easily secured a spot on). The three siblings arrived early again - only ten minutes this time - and still had to park in the farthest part of the parking lot. They made their way towards the school as a unit, but when they reached the front doors, the similarities to the day before ended. Jon was called to by a bunch of guys Mari assumed were the soccer team, Cammy practically skipped towards a shaded table where people crowded around three laptops, and Mari was left on her own. She didn't much care for the opinions of her new classmates, but she couldn't help missing her best friend as she looked at the conversing groups that freckled the school grounds.

The brunette was startled out of her thoughts by an arm looping around her own. She looked over and met the hazel eyes of the strawberry-blonde that had complimented her yesterday. Mari blinked in surprise, and the other girl quirked her lips up into a grin.

"I'm Lydia Martin. This is Kira Yukimura." The Asian girl from the day before popped up on Lydia's other side and gave a shy wave. "And you're Mari Lane, transfer student from Italy. You have a yummy twin brother that joined the soccer team and an adorkable younger sister that's fallen in with the Scholastic Decathalon team."

"How do you know all of this, exactly?" Mari wasn't sure whether to be confused or concerned, so she opted for both.

Lydia giggled, her grin turning into a sly smirk. "I have a gift. Consider us the welcoming committee. Welcome to Beacon Hills High."

"If you're the welcoming committee, then where were you yesterday?"

"We didn't know what - " Kira started to speak but Lydia's head whirled in her direction and she cut herself off.

"What Kira was going to say is that we didn't know there were any new kids until very late yesterday." Lydia's reply was smooth and sure. Mari was skeptical, though. She'd heard the gossip all day yesterday about the new kids. Surely it had reached every corner of the school.

But she made a split-second decision to go with the flow, at least for now. The two girls seemed nice enough, not dangerous as far as she could see, and it couldn't hurt to have a few friendly faces in town.

"Well, thank you for welcoming me. It's nice to meet both of you."

Lydia released Mari's arm and gave her a once-over. "You definitely have some style, but I'm not so sure about this goth-biker look you have going on." She tapped her nails against the binder she held to her chest. "But you're not completely hopeless. I can work with this."

"Um...thank you?" Mari really had no idea where the other girl was going with any of this. Kira didn't seem to, either, if the confused look on her face was anything to go by.

"You seem nice, but I can't be friends with just anyone," Lydia explained, hooking her arm around Mari's again and leading her into the building. "Anyone I'm friends with needs to have style. And you do. So we'll be fine."

Back home, Mari would've kept her distance from someone like Lydia, who was either the Queen Bee or a Queen Bee-wannabe. But she hadn't sussed out any other prospects for friends so far, so Lydia and Kira (who really hadn't said much) would have to do for now. Maybe they were actually much nicer than they seemed?

The warning bell rang, and Lydia dropped Mari's arm once again. "We have to get to class. But you're sitting with us at lunch, okay?" She began to saunter away, her arm now looped around Kira's. "Don't be late! We have lots to talk about!" she called over her shoulder before she and Kira turned a corner and disappeared.

All Mari could do was blink. A lot had happened in only a few minutes, and she needed some time to take it in. But that time would have to happen in her first period, because if she didn't get moving, she was going to be late.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills," she muttered to herself. She adjusted the straps of her bookbag before she began to navigate the crowded hallways. This town just got more interesting - and more odd - by the minute.

* * *

Kira and Lydia met Mari outside of her English class, the one she had right before lunch. They flanked the new girl and steered her towards the courtyard, where they claimed "their group" sat at lunch on sunny days. The two veteran students made a beeline toward a crowded rectangular table but Mari stopped a few yards back. She'd had lots of friends in Italy, sure, and she thought of herself as a fairly confident individual. But the group before her was large and clearly close-knit. She couldn't help but feel worried that she might not be accepted.

Lydia looked up and saw her standing behind, and so she impatiently waved Mari forward. The brunette took a deep breath to calm herself before she strutted towards the table. She figured that a strut was the most confident walk there was, and maybe they'd be more welcoming if she came off as confident?

When she was only a few feet away, the group seemed to collectively turn their heads to look at her. There were four guys and four girls (including Lydia and Kira). Most of the people she didn't know were scowling, but two of the boys were smiling almost angelically, which set her at ease a bit. One of the smiling boys, a brunet with a crooked jaw, stood and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Scott McCall. Welcome to Beacon Hills!" His tone was cheerful as she shifted her textbooks so she could shake his hand. His grip was strong and it was obvious to her that he was holding back some strength. If he didn't instantly remind her of a puppy, Mari might have been wary.

Scott sat back down and wrapped his arm around Kira's shoulder, the long-haired girl cuddling into his side. They were a cute couple, and she felt a twinge of jealousy as the sight brought up some old memories. But she pushed the feelings down. Now was not the time.

Lydia named the rest of the group (most of them were too busy being grumpy to properly introduce themselves), and Mari found herself sitting between Lydia and the other smiling boy, a cheerful sophomore named Mason. Mason began asking her questions as the rest of the group began whispering to each other. She only gave him half of her attention, using the other half to try and figure out what the others were saying since it was probably about her.

"So how are you liking Beacon Hills?"

"It's okay, I suppose," Mari replied, "Some people have been pretty nice. Others have been rather rude." She shot this comment in the direction of the others at the table. On her right, Lydia sighed and snapped her fingers to get everyone's attention.

"I know your parents taught you better than that," Lydia reprimanded. Scott and Kira and a sophomore named Liam hung their heads. The other three (seniors named Cora and Malia and Stiles) still wore frowns, which only served to make Lydia sigh again.

"Mari is mine and Kira's new friend. It would serve you all well to make her feel welcome."

Stiles grumbled as Cora and Malia crossed their arms in unison, but they all wiped their scowls off their faces. Mari smiled gratefully at the strawberry-blonde, who smiled back before diverting her attention to something behind the brunette's head.

"Who do we have here?" asked a deep voice, and Mari spun around. The boy from lunch the day before was standing next to the table, eyeing her with an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn't as close to collapsing in on himself as he had previously been, and the change intrigued her.

"Isaac, this is Mari Lane, a transfer student from Italy," Lydia replied smoothly, "Mari, this is Isaac Lahey. He just returned from studying abroad in France."

Isaac smirked at her, and Mari felt her cheeks start to flush. She cursed herself. He was certainly attractive, but he looked like many other males she'd met in her seventeen years in Europe. Nothing to get riled up about, she chided herself, He's just a teenage boy. Nothing special at all.

"Pleasure to meet you," Isaac said, and Mari couldn't bring herself to do anything but nod. She was embarrassed by how awkward she was acting, but she couldn't seem to make herself stop. Her saving grace came in the form of her brother, who appeared in the courtyard with some of his team.

She stood abruptly, trying to gracefully step over the benchseat as she gathered her books. "Lovely to meet you all, but I really need to talk to my brother. Maybe I'll see you all tomorrow?" But she slipped away before anyone could answer. She made her way to her brother, ignoring the low whistles some of his friends released.

"Jon, I need the car after school. I'm Skyping with Liz and I don't want to make her wait too long. You know how hard it is for her to stay awake after 11."

"Sure, whatever." Jon dug his hand in his backpack and tossed the keys to her. She was thankful for quick reflexes when she caught them in a way that probably looked easy to bystanders. "The guys and I are going to get food after practice. You'll have to pick up Cammy, though. She said she'll be done at 5."

Mari nodded, dropping the keys into her back. "Thanks. I'll see you at home." She spun on her heel, unsure of where she was going as she walked away. All she knew was that she wanted to get out of the courtyard. Maybe she wasn't as ready for Beacon Hills High as she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this done for a while but I was hoping to get chapter 7 done before I published this one. That didn't happen, but here we are. I'm hoping to get chapter 7 written and published by Christmas. Fingers crossed!  
> P.S. I know Lydia is acting very season 1 but there's a reason for that, I swear. I'm not just mischaracterizing her for the hell of it.


	8. Chapter 7

As it turned out, Malia and Cora were in Mari's PE class after lunch. She hadn't noticed the two the day before, but she chalked it up to her first-day nerves. They were playing basketball today, and the two girls were fierce to say the least. They flew down the court, making quick work of shooting basket after basket, decimating the competition.

Mari was thankful that she was on their team, especially after she watched Cora smash into a tall brunette on the opposing team. The brunette fell to the ground, pulling a ginger boy down with her, and there was an audible crack as skin met polished wood. The girl screeched, and Mari saw that she was cradling her arm to her chest. Mr. Wallis blew his whistle, rushing on to the court. Cora was smirking and whispering with Malia, even as the injured girl started to sob.

"Eric, take Juliana to the nurse's office," the teacher instruced. The ginger boy - Eric - nodded his head, softly wrapping his arm around Juliana's shoulder and leading her away. The teacher turned his attention to Cora, releasing a long-suffering sigh. Mari came to the conclusion that this was not new behavior for the other girl.

"Ms. Hale, this is the second time you've severely injured another student this year. I assume you know where the principal's office is?"

Cora said nothing, giving Malia a small high-five before following Eric and Juliana out of the gym. Mr. Wallis sighed again, trudging off the court. He blew his whistle again, followed by instructions to, "Get changed. I'm letting you out early."

Mari went out of her way to catch up with Malia as the girls in the class walked to the locker room. "What was that about?" she asked, grabbing the other girl's arm.

Malia shook her off, still smirking as she turned her head. "Juliana was talking shit earlier, and she thought Cora wouldn't hear. She was wrong. She should know better than to mess with a Hale." She grinned, baring her teeth, and left a stunned Mari standing next to the bleachers.

"I think they might be crazy," Mari muttered to herself.

* * *

Mari's last class of the day was Forensic Science. (She had no real interest in it, but it had been the only open class.) She slid into her seat seconds before the bell rang, having had to talk with Cammy during the break. Just like the day before, the table's other spot was empty. Maybe she just didn't have a partner. She hadn't thought to ask the teacher.

Mrs. Pendrall began to write on the whiteboard, and Mari took a moment to get out her notebook and her pencil case. For all that she tried to appear to be a rebel, she was actually very meticulous when it came to taking notes. Each class had a notebook and a section in her accordion folder, and all of her notes were color-coded with pens and highlighters. (It didn't hurt that selling copies of quality notes was a good way to bring in some extra cash.)

The teacher turned around to begin her lecture, and Mari poised a purple pen over the blank page before her. But before either could begin their task, the classroom door swung wide open, slamming into the adjacent wall. Pendrall turned her head rapidly, glowering as she took in the intruder.

"Mr. Stilinski, you're late again."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Mrs. P. Coach wanted to talk strategy with Scott and I, and we lost track of time." He brandished a piece of paper in front of him. Mari assumed that it was a note of some sort.

Pendrall snatched it from him, squinting at the page for a moment before sighing and placing it on her desk. "Very well, then. Take your seat, Mr. Stilinski."

Stiles nodded, making his way towards the back of the classroom. He came to an abrupt stop in front of Mari's table. "What are you doing here?" He was hissing, for some reason.

"I sit here?" she replied, confusion plain in her voice.

"Mrs. P., really?" Stiles called, facing the teacher again. Her mouth was open, ready to try to begin class, but instead she sighed again.

"What is it now, Mr. Stilinski? Your peers are here to learn and you are keeping them from that."

"Why is she - " he flailed his hand in Mari's general direction, "at my table? What happened to Roger?"

"Mr. Tersch transferred out after your last...incident. You were the only student without a partner. That situation is now rectified."

"But!"

"Please, Mr. Stilinski. Take. Your. Seat." Pendrall looked like she was on the verge of blowing a gasket. "Or do I have to send you to the principal again?"

Stiles deflated. "No, you don't. I'll be quiet."

* * *

"Liz, these people are _pazzi_!" ("crazy")

"Mari, take a breath. First of all, didn't your sister say that you need to speak English? You can't just go slipping into Italian all the time." Elizabette Andrews, better known as Liz, was Mari's best friend from her schools in Senise. Liz had moved to Italy from the United States back in _scuola media_ , and the two girls had been inseperable ever since. The second biggest heartbreak Mari had ever experienced - after the death of her mother, of course - was having to leave her best friend behind.

" _Sì! Ma mia sorella è la più pazza di tutti!_ " ("Yes! But my sister is the craziest of them all!") Mari was practically shrieking. She was extremely stressed out by the events of the past two days, and by the fact that apparently people at her school already hated her. They hadn't even had a chance to get to know her! If they hated her after that time, she could understand that. She'd had many enemies back in Senise and Colobraro. But for people to judge her right off the bat...

"Mar, stop! You're in the United States now. You need to speak English! You know how much we hated it when _stranieri_ (foreigners) came to town and refused to speak our language. Now you must do the same with your new home." Liz was trying her best to calm down her flustered friend. But Mari wasn't having it.

" _Questa non è casa mia! Questa non sarà mai la mia casa! Blue vedrà l'errore che ha fatto!_ " ("This is not my home! This will never be my home! Blue will see the error she has made!")

"Mari, seriously, breathe." Mari took a deep breath, and Liz smiled on the screen of the video chat, "Okay, what's really the problem? I thought you'd come to terms with Blue's decision. Well, as much as you can agree with another person's decisions."

"There are...others...here. In the town we've moved to."

"Others?"

"Other people like me. People with powers. _Soprannaturali_."

Liz nodded. Mari had long ago confided in her friend about her magical powers. Her mother had told her that she could confide in one person, and that person had been a girl that was as much of an outcast as Mari herself would be if anyone found out. Liz hadn't been very popular when she'd first moved to Senise, with her acne and thick glasses and braces. That had changed when they reached the _liceo classico_ , and Liz had outgrown all of her awkwardness. She'd become beautiful, but had remained by Mari's side.

"Okay. Are any of them cute?" Liz had wanted Mari to get a boyfriend for an extremely long time, ever since her breakup with her scumbag ex, Alessandro Brivio. And a boy with supernatural powers would just be the icing on the cake.

Mari shook her head ruefully. Her friend's antics used to make her angry, but now they just amused her.

"I don't know. I haven't met any of them yet. I sensed them in this old building I was exploring. They came in before I could learn anything about them. There were a lot of them, easily a coven or a pack. I'm worried, since I haven't exactly announced myself. I'm sure they know I was in their space. They won't be very happy with an unknown supernatural in their territory. What am I going to do?" The witch girl had been calm at the beginning of her speech, but was now verging into hyperventilation territory.

"It'll be fine, Mari. Didn't your mom give you a book or something? Hyacinth was the most overly-prepared woman I have ever met. I'm sure there's something in there about meeting other _soprannaturali_ , and moving into their territory, and other such things." Liz had always been the voice of reason in the friendship, while Mari was sort of the muscle, so to speak. Not to say that Liz wasn't strong or that Mari wasn't smart, but Liz tended to think with her head, and Mari thought with her heart and fists.

"You're right, as usual." The witch sighed. "Please, tell me about your life so I can calm down." Liz blushed furiously at the request, which peaked her friend's interest.

"Well, a boy asked me out..."

Mari screeched a little bit, thankful that no one was home to hear the ruckus. "Who? When? Where? How?"

"It was Maximillian Dioli. You know, the brother of Cammy's friend?" Liz paused her friend confirmed her knowledge with a nod. "He asked me out right after you left. He said that he had been wanting to do it for some time, but you alway scared him too much for him to do anything."

Mari snorted at this. She had a bit of a reputation at her old school. She was beautiful but deadly. Several boys had called her a succube before, which was a laughable concept. She had met a _succube_ once, when she and her mother had gone on a job in a neighboring town. The woman had been something of a black widow, married five times in the past seven years. Elenora Svetian had been her name, and she had been the most gorgeous creature Mari had ever seen. Certainly nothing like a thirteen-year old witchling yet to even grow into her own.

"Did you say yes? Inquiring minds want to know."

Liz stuck her tongue out in response, cheeks flaming even more. "Well, he is very cute, and very sweet. Cammy was right about both of those things." Cammy had often reported on Maximillian's dateability after returning from visiting her best friend, Evangeline Dioli.

"But what did you say?" Mari pressed the issue, mostly forgetting all about her fairly terrible second day of school.

"I said that I would think about it. But I'm thinking I'll tell him yes. I've seen him reading Tolstoy and Poe in the library, though I didn't know his name at the time."

Mari definitely screeched this time. "He's _Il Ragazzo Libreria_ (The Library Boy)? Why didn't you tell me straight away?"

"I wasn't certain you would remember me mentioning him. That was right around..." Liz paused, her face sobering. Mari remembered her friend's first mention of the boy, just a week before her mother had passed away. The day after Liz's sighting, Hyacinth had gone into the hospital, and they had both been too preoccupied to consider the issue.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Mari said after a few moments of silence. Liz smiled tentatively.

"I should probably go to bed. It's so late here," Liz replied, "Thanks for listening."

"And the same to you. _Buona notte_ , Lizzie."

" _Buona notte_ ," Liz replied before ending the chat.

Mari closed her laptop and turned her chair away from the desk. She rose, heading towards her bed. She flopped down, her head hitting her pillows and allowing her to muffle her screams of irritation. Moving was bad enough, without all this added supernatural nonsense. Blue was never allowed to plan anything ever again.

"Worst. Move. Ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. I'm the worst. I haven't posted a chapter since December. But winter quarter was crazy and I didn't have any inspiration for this story AND I ended up starting another fic with my friend (go check out "Pacing the Cage", my other Teen Wolf OC fic). Thank you all for being patient! I hope you enjoyed, and I promise legit plot is coming soon!


	9. Chapter 8

On her third day in Beacon Hills, Mari was less than pleased to find Isaac Lahey sitting at her table in her French class. As if ending the day with Stiles wasn't bad enough. Now she had to begin the day with the curly-haired boy that had speckled her dreams last night (though she would never admit such a thing aloud). His blue eyes were twinkling as she walked towards their apparently shared desk, with her arms folded and lips pursed.  
  
"Lovely to see you again," he said as she slid into her seat. She refused to look at him, flicking her hair over her shoulder to create a sort of barrier. She began to rummage through her bag as he chuckled. "That's not the best way to make friends, in case you were wondering."  
  
"I wasn't, so kindly keep your words of wisdom to yourself," she sneered, still not looking his way. He snorted.  
  
"Have I done something to offend you, then? We've only just met."  
  
"Maybe I just don't find it worth my time to engage with boys who think they're God's gift to the world."  
  
Feminine laughter had Mari twisting around, only to discover Cora and Lydia at the table behind her.  
  
"You two are here as well? Why didn't I see any of you in class yesterday? Or the day before?"  
  
"Maybe you just weren't looking hard enough," Isaac replied, winking as he spoke. All three girls snorted, and a small frown replaced his smirk.  
  
" _Bonjour, classe_!" Madamoiselle Collette chirped as she strode into the classroom. Mari had only known the older woman for half a week now, but she had already noticed the teacher's penchant for pencil skirts and Mary Jane heels. She dressed like a grown-up school girl, and the witch wasn't sure whether the aesthetic was adorable or creepy. Possibly both.  
  
As the teacher began to outline the day's lesson, Isaac slipped a note to his deskmate.

**Seriously, though, what's your problem with me?  
**  
Mari scowled at the paper before quickly writing, I don't have a problem with you.  
 **  
I never would have guessed.  
**  
Why do you care?  
  
 **Why should I care about the beautiful new girl hating me? I wonder...**  
  
She couldn't help the small flush that swept across her cheeks at his latest line. There was no way she would look at him now. He couldn't know he affected her. It was only a small change, anyway.  
  
Whatever. Now shut up. I'd like to pass this class.  
  
 **Technically, I wasn't actually saying anything...**  
  
Mari groaned quietly after reading Isaac's latest response, softly banging her head on the table. Cora and Lydia giggled a little louder than they should have, causing some of their classmates to give them all confused looks.  
  
A pleased smile on his face, Isaac didn't bother her for the rest of the class period, something that Mari was extremely thankful for. French was a Romance language like Italian, but the two were different in many ways. For one thing, they had some fairly large pronunciation differences, and she was worried that her fluency in Italian might end up hurting - rather than helping - her ability to learn French. As much as she tried to maintain a sort of "bad girl" image, Mari was actually very conscientious when it came to her grades. She was hoping to have her pick of colleges come spring, and she refused to lower her GPA as she came into the final stretch of her high school career.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed mostly without incident. Lydia and Kira invited her to sit with them at lunch again, but Mari opted out. Instead, she spent the period in the library, reading a book on the Salem Witch Trials she'd pulled from the shelves. She hadn't sought the topic out purposefully, but the book felt like it called to her, so she went with it.  
  
Cora and Malia weren't in PE, which she assumed had to do with the basketball incident from the day before. Sadly, Stiles was very much present in their science class, but she elected to ignore him. Her plan worked out well, since Mrs Pendrall spent the class lecturing. Unlike Isaac, Stiles didn't try to pass notes with her, which made her dislike him just a little bit less.  
  
After school, Mari decided to bike into town. Jon had declared his need for the car after school at breakfast that morning, and so she had dutifully shoved her bike into the trunk. She was on the hunt for a job. She'd had one as a tutor back in Italy, and she really didn't want to deal with questions from Blue when she needed money for spell ingredients.  
  
As it turned out, Beacon Hills was even smaller than she'd realized, and there didn't seem to be any places hiring. It probably didn't help that every business in town seemed to be locally-owned and extremely tight-knit. From the looks she was getting as she made her way through town, Mari decided that outsiders weren't really welcomed in this community.  
  
Eventually, the girl found herself outside a small diner near the sheriff's station, a hole-in-the-wall joint called Woodlands. The place didn't seem very busy, and there wasn't any sort of "Help Wanted" sign in the window, but she went inside anyway. She walked up to the register, where a bored-looking waitress with dark red hair was popping gum and reading a book.  
  
"How can I help you?" the girl droned, barely looking up.  
  
"I was wondering if you might have any job openings? I just moved here and..." Mari began, but the girl cut her off.  
  
"Grace! There's a girl out here that wants to talk to you!" she called behind her. An older woman came out of a back room, a smile painted on her face.  
  
"Hello there! How can I help you, dear?" the woman - Grace - asked when she reached the counter. Up close, Mari could see that the smile didn't quite reach Grace's eyes. It was a typical expression for people in the service industry, she'd noticed.  
  
"My name is Mari Lane. I just moved to town, and I was wondering if you might have any job openings? I know there isn't a sign up or anything..." She found herself interrupted once more, this time by a crash from the kitchen. A waitress came stomping through the swinging door, followed closely by a startled cook.  
  
"I can't take this anymore!" the waitress yelled, throwing her hands up.  
  
"Lynn, it's not what you think," the cook said in as soothing a tone as possible, "I wasn't doing anything!"  
  
The cook's tone didn't help the waitress' mood, and perhaps even aggravated it, based on her response. "That's bullshit, Sam! You were flirting with the delivery guy! You're always flirting with the delivery guy!" Lynn the waitress had spun around at this point and was stabbing Sam the cook in the chest with a finger.  
  
"I was just being nice! I grew up next door to Tom! It'd be rude of me to ignore him!" the cook protested, her soothing tone falling away.  
  
"If you have so much history with him, and you care so much about his feelings, then maybe you should date him instead!" Lynn pulled off her apron and threw it at Sam's face. She then proceeded to slam her nametag on the counter before flinging up the counter gate. "I quit!"  
  
Grace was wide-eyed as Lynn stormed out of the diner, the cheerfully-chiming bell above the door ringing in her wake. Mari looked back at Sam as Lynn disappeared around the corner. The cook was blinking in shock as Grace kindly pulled the apron off her head. The two had a quick whispered conversation before Sam silently returned to the kitchen.  
  
The older woman returned her attention to Mari, her smile much softer and more genuine than before. "Well, I guess we have an opening after all."

* * *

Mari left the diner an hour and a half later, after filling out a bunch of paperwork and going through a quick training session. She would mostly be working after school Monday through Thursday, as well as the brunch shift on Sunday. She was pretty happy with her prospective schedule, especially after she was informed by the girl at the register - now known to be named Tessa - that most of her weekday shifts would be slow. So it'd be highly unlikely that her new job would interfere with her schoolwork. She would be sure to mention that when she broke the news to Blue.  
  
As she made her way back home, Mari considered her new life. She'd only been in Beacon Hills for three days now, but she felt like a lot had happened. She'd kind of made new friends, she'd gotten a new job, and she'd discovered that there were at least a few other supernaturals in the area. It was the last topic that occupied her thoughts for most of the trip. Unless they were complete newbies to the whole supernatural thing, they'd probably discovered that a witch had been in their lair. They would be coming for her any day now, if not today. Should she find them first, or wait for them to come to her? It'd be less effort on her part if she waited for them, but would that be taken as an insult?  
  
She was dragged out of thought when the sun was suddenly blocked, draping the road in shadow. Looking up, Mari caught a quick glimpse of something dark in the sky, but it was gone before she could really notice anything about it. She would have been more concerned if she didn't already have a notion of what it was. But that was a concern for later. For now, she'd arrived back home and she had a lot of homework waiting for her.  
  
Back in Italy, the Liceo had joined the ranks of many other schools by adopting a  _settimana corta_. Now they operated much like American schools, with classes only going Monday through Friday, rather than through Saturday. So a usual Friday night would've featured Mari and Liz going out with other people from school. Alternatively, they might have had a sleepover and stayed up all night watching movies. But this was California, not Italy. Here, Mari would study on a Friday night. Jon had told her about some party going on that night, but it wouldn't feel right going out without her best friend. So she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me two months to update. I'm sorry! But you can take comfort in knowing that I already have the next chapter done, and have the chapter after that halfway written. So I should be updating next week or the week after.  
> I know this was just kind of filler, but I need a few bridging chapters. Don't you worry your heads, the real plot will be starting soon enough. I hope you all enjoyed anyway!


	10. Chapter 9

It had been a long time since Viveca Holmberg had spent her lunch period on the Beacon Hills High campus. Several months in fact. Back then, she was happy. Her parents were together, she had an amazing boyfriend and friends, and she and her siblings were getting along better than ever. Everything was basically perfect. But then another in a string of serial killers descended on Beacon Hills, and Peder was just one of the many victims.

Viveca hadn't really spoken to anyone since the funeral. Peder hadn't been just her brother, but also her best friend. He was only been a year older than her, and the two had been thick as thieves when they were younger. Though they'd grown apart a bit as they grew older, they still tended to confide in each other more than they did in others. Peder had been the first person Viveca told about her crush on her future boyfriend Conner Mayhew. Viveca had been the first person Peder told about his acceptance into the University of Washington.

But all that was gone now. Now, Viveca spent her free time at the Beacon Hills graveyard, desperate to be close to her brother whenever possible. Most people weren't exactly fond of hanging out in graveyards or of people who did such a thing. So Viveca didn't really have friends anymore. Once a bit of a social butterfly, she now find solace in silence. It didn't feel right, continuing to live her regular life when Peder no longer had one.

In all the months that she had been visiting, it was very rare that she encountered anyone in the graveyard, especially during her lunch visits. So she was suitably surprised to find a short woman in a long black dress standing at Peder's grave. She wasn't anyone Viveca had ever seen before, impressive in a town as small as Beacon Hills, and an unsolicited chill rushed down the teen's spine when the mysterious lady turned around.

" _Hallo_ ," the woman's voice was soft but deep, and a small smile graced her face. Rather than comfort, though, the smile added to the fear Viveca was rapidly developing. "You are Viveca Holmberg, _ja_?"

The girl nodded, too afraid to speak even if she wanted to. How did this lady know her name? She didn't have the greatest memory, sure, but she had a hard time believing she wouldn't remember a person as eerily concerning as the one before her.

"I am Ase Lund, and I have a proposition for you. I can help you be at peace with the death of your brother. All you need to do is follow a set of instructions I have laid out for you." The woman pulled a roll of paper out of her dress and held it out to Viveca. "Is this something you might be interested in?"

Viveca nodded tentatively, concern marring her attempt at a smile. This situation seemed a bit sketchy. She had no clue who this lady was, and how in the world was that roll going to help her find peace? It was just some paper! Unless it was a map to the location of Peder's killer, there was no way it could do anything for her. This was Beacon Hills, not Narnia.

"This is not the first time our families have met, you know," Ase interrupted her train of thoughts, the soft smile replaced by a wry one, "I knew your grandparents. Ronja and Joakin were good friends with my parents, Kirsten and Olav Lund. We lived next door to them for many years. I saw you at their house a few times, playing tag with your brother and your two sisters. You were quite fast. But Peder was always just a little bit faster, wasn't he?"

So even if Viveca didn't know Ase, it was clear that the older woman knew her. Ronja and Joakin were her dad's parents that had lived in Connecticut, and the family used to visit every summer. Tag in the giant backyard had been a favorite pasttime of the children, and she fondly recalled those memories.

"I did not think I would see you again, after Ronja died and Joakin moved here to live with you. But then I heard that Peder had passed, and I knew that I could help. So here I am."

This lady seemed to know a lot about her family. And now that she thought about it, Viveca vaguely remembered her grandparents mentioning the Lunds a few times, particularly an exceptional daughter. Maybe this woman wasn't so strange after all. Maybe she really could help. It couldn't hurt to try.

Viveca reached for the paper, but Ase pulled it back in the nick of time. "If you take this from me, you are agreeing to pay me back one day. Are you sure about this? You will not be able to change your mind."

She considered the question. After all, she didn't really know anything about this strange woman, this Ase, except that she used to live next door to Viveca's grandparents many years ago. But she needed to finally come to terms with her brother's death, and if this lady was offering her a way to do it... She nodded once more, and Ase handed her the paper.

"Good luck then, _liten jente_. You will be hearing from me soon enough," Ase said as Viveca unrolled the paper. When the teen looked up from the complex calligraphy decorating the page, the woman was gone. It was strange, but she was too intent on learning the paper's secrets to care about anything else. Besides, this whole encounter had been quite out there, so any sort of normal exit would have seemed out of place. Honestly, this was just another day in Beacon Hills.

* * *

The end of the school day was generally signaled by the ringing of the bell. Today, for the pack, it was a phone call from Derek during 6th period. Derek - who apparently still possessed some lingering Alpha tendencies - claimed to have some urgent information that required the entire pack to assemble at his loft as soon as possible. Of course, Stiles had released an exaggerated sigh when the message reached him, but no one argued. It didn't take anyone long to get to the loft, where they found Derek pacing next to the breakfast bar.

"What's up, Derek?" Scott asked as he approached the older man. The rest of the pack arranged themselves around the room, with the girls on the couch while the boys grabbed bar-stools or sat on the floor.

"There's a shadow in Beacon Hills."

"Wow, that's a great observation!" Stiles remarked, sarcasm filling every syllable. "Dumbass, there are shadows everywhere."

Derek was too wrapped up in his pacing to even snarl at the younger man. "It looked like...a giant bird is the best comparison I can think of. It was skulking around town while I was grocery shopping."

The pack shared looks of confusion, which mostly involved a lot of eyebrow-raising. They'd heard of a lot of weird things over the years, but...a skulking bird shadow? That seemed pretty bizarre, even for this town.

"Derek, are you sure? Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you? I know Beacon Hills hasn't always been the kindest to you. Maybe..."

"I know what I saw, Scott! Maybe we should do some research, instead of questioning my sanity, or whatever it was that you were thinking!" Derek snapped, eyes glowing.

Scott held his hand up in surrender. "Yeah, sure. We'll see what we can find."

"You said it was a giant bird shadow, right?" The room's attention turned to where Lydia and Stiles were crouched over the coffee table. The two were looking at the laptop Lydia had pulled out of her bag.

"Yeah," Derek responded, "About as big as a car."

Lydia hummed acknowledgement, typing something as Stiles nodded next to her. The rest of the pack gave their resident researchers time to do their thing and made their way to another loft in the building. Derek had set up an enhanced supernatural gym for everyone to train in, so train they did. They spent about an hour in there before Stiles and Lydia came running in, eyes bright.

"We found something!" Stiles shouted without warning.

"Inside voice, Stilinski," Cora commented from the corner. She was benchpressing under Kira's watchful eye.

"What Stiles was saying," Lydia continued, briefly glaring at Cora, "is that we have an idea about the shadow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait to put this chapter up, since it hasn't even been a week since the last one. But I got antsy about it and I keep changing it and if I don't put it out soon, it feels like I won't ever put it out. So here you go. I hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter, even though Mari wasn't present. She'll be back next chapter (and the fun will begin), don't you worry!


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @llleeerrroooyyy on tumblr, as a Finals Week present. Also, this chapter picks up immediately after the end of Chapter 9.

"I told you I wasn't crazy," Derek grumbled in response to Stiles and Lydia's revelation, but he was largely ignored.

"So we couldn't find a name for the shadow, but there is a record of a similar shadow in the Bestiary. It's a note on a page about a witch named Merga Bien."

"Who the hell is that?" Malia chimed in. She was doing burpees on one of several yoga mats next to a mirrored wall.

"I was getting to that," Lydia started, but this time Stiles cut her off.

"She was a victim of the Fulda Witch Trials in Germany in the 1600s. She was accused of having sex with the Devil after she got pregnant because she and her third husband had been married for a long time and had never been able to conceive. She and her unborn child were burned alive at the stake in 1603," he rambled, and Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Cool story. Still not really sure how this helps us." Malia was really going out of her way to be annoying and unhelpful today, apparently.

"As I was saying," Lydia growled, "The Bestiary only says that she encountered a bird-like shadow creature in the 1500s and dealt with it, whatever that means. I have no idea where the Argents got this information, considering they didn't even start hunting until the 1700s, but that's neither here or there. The point is, maybe one of Merga's descendants knows more about this."

"But how do we go about finding the descendants of a witch from 400-plus years ago? Especially since her only child died with her?" Liam had apparently decided that he could get away with interrupting the banshee like Cora and Malia had, but he quickly learned otherwise when faced with Lydia's glare.

"It just so happens that the Bestiary already took care of that for us," Stiles responded as he placed his hand on Lydia's shoulder. She smiled and relaxed slightly into his touch. "Apparently, Merga had a sister that managed to escape Germany. She moved to Italy, got married, and changed her name. The family moved all over Europe and other continents for the better part of the last 400 years. But apparently they always ended up in this small Italian town called Colobraro. It's supposed to be insanely haunted and a hotbed for dark magic."

"It's Mari!" Kira chirped suddenly, and when she met the eyes of the rest of the pack, she blushed. "We already know she's a witch, right? And she's from Italy...that can't be a coincidence?"

"Scottie, I knew I liked this girl," Stiles said, grinning at the kitsune. She smiled back at him.

"So...you're saying that you think the new girl is the descendant of some old-ass witch that might know what the shadow Derek saw is?" Isaac scoffed.

"You got a problem with our theory, Lahey?" Stiles snipped, crossing his arms. Isaac smirked in response.

"I just think it's a little far-fetched. Nothing's that easy, Stilinski."

"We're due for a quick win every now and then," Stiles protested, and Isaac shrugged.

"Whatever. So what are we going to do now?"

All eyes turned to Scott and Derek, who seemed to be silently communicating with each other. Eventually, Scott turned back to his pack and grinned sheepishly.

"I guess we have to push our time frame up. We're going to have to let Mari know that we know her secret."

* * *

Late on Friday night, Mari was reading a section of the Lane family grimoire when Blue called for her. Sighing, the girl hid the aged book in the mountain-ash box under her bed before leaving her room. She made her way to the landing next to the staircase, which overlooked the front door. Currently, Blue was standing in said doorway and completely blocking her view.

"What? I was doing homework," Mari groaned, slumping over the railing.

"You have a visitor," Blue replied, "A very cute visitor. You should probably come and greet him."

Sighing, she started down the twisting stairs. But she stopped short, wrinkling her nose in disgust as her sister stepped out of the way, revealing Isaac Lahey leaning casually against the door jamb.

"Oh great, it's you," she huffed as he slowly looked up at her. The action would have looked ridiculous had it been performed by anyone else. But on him, it was... Well, she wasn't sure what it was exactly. But it was obvious to her that he had become much more relaxed in the days since she first laid eyes on him. Then, he'd been thrumming with electricity, a lion ready to pounce, even in his melancholic state. And now? Now, he was more like a housecat, both lazy and full of vicious potential.

"Lovely to see you, too, Marigold," Isaac purred, sizing her up. It was only then that she remembered she was bra-less, clad simply in a thin tank top and short-shorts. _I will not blush, dammit. I don't care what he thinks. It's not like a boy's never checked me out before. He isn't any different._

"What do you want, Lahey?" She crossed her arms over her chest, and his smirk grew. Typical teenage boy.

"I'm just here to talk." He was still purring, and it might have been seductive if she wasn't so annoyed. As it was, she couldn't deny the urge she felt to make out with him, just a little bit. But she was strong, and she would resist the temptation.

"What is there to talk about? We literally just met yesterday. And we've had a grand total of one conversation since then." She wanted to ask how he knew where she lived, but Beacon Hills was a small town. She imagined it wouldn't be hard to track down any newcomers. Especially since Isaac was friends with Stiles, and she'd recently learned that her lab partner's dad was the town sheriff.

"I think you'll find we actually have a lot to say to each other. Can I come in?" His eyes were bright with mischief, and she really wished that wasn't such an attractive look. She had to keep reminding herself that she had no time for small-town jocks. They'd only ever broken her heart, and they rarely went anywhere. They were never worth the effort.

Mari eventually sighed, nodding at her sister's questioning look. "I guess. Come upstairs. We'll go to my room." Blue raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. The younger girl was thankful for small graces.

"A little forward, aren't you? Are all Italian girls like this?" Isaac chuckled, strolling inside and shutting the door behind him.

"Shut up, before I regret letting you in," Mari snarled, causing Isaac to chuckle again. Why did that sound make her heart beat a little faster?

"Whatever you say." He flashed a grin at Blue, who blushed faintly. "It was lovely speaking to you."

He made his way upstairs, following Mari as she stormed into her room. He closed the door softly as she flopped down on her bed. Isaac made to sit next to her, but her pointed glare had him going to the desk chair instead.

"Why are you here? How did you even know where I live?" She wanted him to admit that he'd asked Stiles to get her address for him, that he was some sort of stalker. Maybe that would make her feel a little less nervous. Probably not, though.

"Oh, I know lots of things about you, Marigold Lane." Isaac was back at the purring, which was kind of sketchy, even if it was thrilling.

"There is literally no way that you could sound creepier, Lahey."

He chuckled once more, causing Mari to roll her eyes. _He thinks he's the coolest thing in existence. I'm guess it's going to be my job to knock him down a peg. Or five._ "But seriously, why the hell are you here? What could you possibly want from me?"

Isaac sobered almost instantly. All traces of humor were gone, replaced by a heaping dose of the seriousness she'd glimpsed on her first day. “Okay. Let's cut the crap. We know who you are.”

For some unknown reason, that sentence helped everything click. Beacon Hills made just a little bit more sense. She pulsed him again, just to confirm her suspicions. When the pulse responded affirmatively, Mari cocked her head, now smiling wryly. “I highly doubt that, wolf-boy.”

His cool demeanor fell away instantly, leaving him gaping in its wake. “How…what…?”

She was pleased that she could so easily tear down his walls. She let herself show this pleasure, her smile turning into a smug smirk. “I have my ways. Now, what is it you think you know?”

“We know you’re a witch," he replied, making his best effort to save face and regain his 'coolness'. But she wasn't fooled.

Mari laughed. “Oh sweetie, you hardly know the half of it. And who's this 'we' you keep mentioning? Your little pack?”

Isaac ignored her questions. “Stiles and Lydia think you know what the giant bird shadow in town today was. Supposedly, it was as big as a car.”

His response caused Mari to pause, a momentary stutter interrupting any witty drawl. "And why do you think I'd have any idea as to what you're talking about?" She tried to look innocent, but apparently Isaac wasn't fooled by her, either.

"We know of a witch that encountered a similar shadow. Her name was Merga Bien. Ring any bells?"

She nodded slowly, tentative about how much she really wanted to share with this boy, who was essentially a stranger. "Merga was my ancestor. The first witch of my line. How do you know about her?"

"We all have our secrets, Marigold," Isaac's grin was wolfish, and she felt the sudden urge to punch him in the face. She decided to hold herself back, though, at least until she got more answers. There was a time where she certainly would've punched first, but she liked to consider herself older and wiser now.

"So why do you care about this shadow? It hasn't done anything. I would know if it had." She had set some warning spells after her encounter with the shadow in the woods. None of them had been tripped yet.

Isaac sighed. “Scott’s a True Alpha – I’m assuming you know what that is since you apparently know all about us – and one of his True Alpha things is that he constantly feels the urge to protect everyone everywhere. It's kind of disgusting, but also strangely endearing.” His explanation made sense, considering how Scott had led the way at their first meeting. He was the leader of the Beacon Hills pack.

"A True Alpha?" Mari mused, "That's interesting. I thought those were only legends." Hyacinth had mentioned them briefly during her lesson on werewolves, but they'd never come up again. There was also a small note about them in the grimoire, but it provided little more information than her mother had.

"What, like witches and werewolves? You were born into this world, weren't you? You should know by now that all legends have a basis in truth." Isaac snorted, and she felt the urge to hit him again. "Anyways, he wants to know about this shadow before it becomes a problem. We like to preempt the bad guys and their evil plans."

"How do you know that this shadow isn't a good guy? And how do you know I'm not one of your 'bad guys'? Your Alpha seems to have a lot of faith in a girl he's only just met."

"We don't. But Scott always wants to trust people, give them the benefit of the doubt. If it was up to Stiles and Derek, you'd probably be dead right now. They aren't fond of undeclared supernaturals moving into their territory."

There was a brief silence as the two teens stared each other down. Mari moved first, feeling a sudden urge to tuck loose hair behind her ear. "And what do you think about all of this?"

"I think that we can't make any decisions until we have all the facts. And as far as we know, you can give us answers. So it's good that we're keeping you around. For now, at least."

"What if I don't want to give you answers?"

His eyes turned gold, and he grinned, baring his rapidly growing fangs. "Then you'll find out what our 'little pack' can do."

She forced herself to swallow normally. She'd never actually seen a werewolf in its other form before. It was extremely disconcerting.

Isaac rose and made his way to the door, turning his head as he opened it. "We have a pack meeting on Sunday. Be there at noon." He left without another word, closing the door softly in his wake.

 _Well, that wasn't how I was expecting my Friday night to go._ She punctuated the thought by falling backwards on her bed. _Noon on Sunday...they're lucky my first brunch shift isn't until next weekend._ Even if she did have to work this weekend, she probably would have found a way out of it. She was loathe to admit it, but Isaac's threat had actually set her on edge. She hated the feeling, but there was nothing she could do about it. Not yet, at least.

_For now, I'll play by their rules. At least until I get a better sense of what I'm dealing with. After that...we'll see._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! Plot-ish things! Ship interaction! Sass! I love this chapter, and I hope you all do, too. I would really love it if you could review and let me know how this is going. I'm really proud of this story so far, but reader input is always loved. Hopefully I'll be seeing you all in a week or two with another chapter.


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